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East Side Mafia Wins 5th Straight Flag Title

OCEAN CITY- The East Side Mafia captured its fifth straight Ocean City Recreation and Parks Fall Flag Football League championship last week, defeating Three Brothers, 25-12, in the title game.

The East Side Mafia cruised through the early rounds of the playoffs, beating Buxy’s Salty Dog, 32-26, in the second round before topping Three Brothers, 42-26, to return to the league championship game. After the loss to East Side Mafia, Three Brothers had to go back to the loser’s bracket and battle its way back to a rematch in the championship. Three Brothers then beat Kirby’s Red Onion, 27-19, to reach the title game and a rematch with East Side Mafia.

Because East Side Mafia cruised to the championship game unbeaten, Three Brothers would have had to have beaten them twice to earn the title, but East Side Mafia took care of business in the first meeting with the 25-12 win and their fifth straight championship. The following is a quick look at how the final games in the tournament played out:

(bullet) Three Brothers 27- Kirby’s Red Onion 19: Three Brothers got on the board first on a four-yard run by Steven Monroe for an early 7-0 lead. Kirby’s responded with a 26-yard interception return by Barry Snowden to cut the lead to 7-6. Monroe then threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jodi Mitchell to extend Three Brothers’ lead to 13-6. Snowden responded with a one-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Jackson to tie the game at 13-13 at the half.

In the second half, Monroe hit Mitchell again, this time on a four-yard scoring strike to put Three Brothers ahead, 20-13. Kirby’s responded with a one-yard TD pass from Snowden to Tavon Smiley, but the extra point failed and Three Brothers clung to a 20-19 lead. Three Brothers took control for good on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chip Purnell to Mark Blake to close out the scoring at 27-19 and advance to the championship game.

(bullet) East Side Mafia 25- Three Brothers 12: In the title game, East Side Mafia jumped out to an early lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Ray Taranto to John Chester to go up 7-0. After an interception by Wayne Bowden, Taranto hit Jake Southards on a 62-yard scoring strike to extend East Side Mafia’s lead to 13-0.

After an interception, Monroe found Mike Kelley on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 13-6, which is how the first half would end. In the second half, Taranto threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Ball to extend East Side’s lead to 19-6. Again, Three Brothers answered with an 18-yard scoring strike from Monroe to Mark Blake to cut the lead to a tenuous 19-12. However, Taranto sealed the deal once and for all with a 50-yard bomb to Chester to push the lead to 25-19 and a fifth straight flag football title for the East Side Mafia.